The present invention relates to an accessory for a bird bath and more particularly to an accessory for such device constructed to maintain the water therein contained relatively free of bird excrement and algae.
In the past bird baths have required frequent cleaning because the water became polluted from bird droppings and algae growth. Protracted observation discloses that excrement is deposited in a bird bath in two ways. First, the parent birds, when through feeding the young, clean out the nest by picking up the excrement deposited by the young in the nest in a mucus type sack. Which is then carried away when the parent bird picks the sack up in its beak and flies away from the nest. It is the nature of the parent bird to drop the sack the first time it perches. If such perching takes place at the edge of a bird bath, the excrement is dropped in the water contained therein since the bird will be facing the bath. Secondly, after a bird bathes and prepares to leave the bird bath it will move to the outer edge of the bath facing outwardly before taking off in flight. At this point immediately following bathing, a bird will frequently eliminate and the excrement naturally will drop in the water.
The excrement deposited in the water unfortunately is an excellent nutrient encouraging the growth of algae in the bath water. Some algae would normally be present and growing in the water in the bath in any event.
The protracted observation previously referred to discloses some further information valuable to an understanding of this application. When a bird is in flight enroute to a destination and a barrier is introduced in the flight path proximate the destination, the bird will alight on the barrier before proceeding to the ultimate destination. Additionally, when a bird is perched and anything touches its tail feathers, it will reverse its position and move to the impediment before taking off into flight. These two peculiarities should help to explain the function of the structure of the present invention.
The present invention proposes to overcome the problems previously referred to by providing a perch structure for attachment to a bird bath and which will surround the outer peripheral edge of the bird bath in spaced parallel relation or concentric thereto but in a horizontal plane elevated above the horizontal plane of the outer peripheral edge of the bird bath.
The present invention further proposes to overcome the hereinbefore discussed problems by providing structure previously referred to having portions extending into the water containing area of the bird bath, said portions being coated with a substance which will very slowly furnish copper ions to the water and retard the growth of the algae to a substantial extent.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an accessory for bird baths including structure completely surrounding the outer peripheral edge of said bath in spaced parallel relation thereto and in a horizontal plane spaced above and parallel to the horizontal plane of said edge providing an impediment in the landing and take off path of a bird enroute to or from a bird bath.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device of the character described wherein further structure is provided which extends into the water contained in the bird bath said structure being coated with a substance, such as a copper carbon couple, which will slowly furnish a source of copper ions to the water to substantially retard algae growth.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device of the character described wherein the structure surrounding the outer peripheral edge of the bird bath, as previously described, is in a horizontal plane so spaced vertically above the horizontal plane of said edge that it would contact the tail feathers of a bird perched on the edge and facing inwardly toward the center of the bath when the bird is in level or balanced stance, thereby causing the bird to face about and move to the surrounding structure.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as this description proceeds, as will various modifications and changes which can be made to the structure of the device without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Such additional objects, advantages, modifications and changes are intended to be covered by the scope of the appended claims.